Automobile construction.



N0. 895,661. PATENTED AUG. 11, 1908.

W. MORRISON. AUTOMOBILE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED 001231, 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

No. 895,661. PATENTED AUG; 11, 1908. W. MORRISON. AUTOMOBILE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31, 1904.

4 SHEETSBHEET 2 PATBNTED AUG. 11, 1908.

W. MORRISON. AUTOMOBILE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31, 1904.

. WILLIAM MORRISON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

UNITED strArns PATENT ornron.

ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO M. A. LUMBARD,

OF DES MOINES, IOWA.

AUTOMOBILE CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1908.

Application filed October 31, 1904. Serial No. 230,877.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be'it known that I, WILLIAM MORRISON, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Chicago, Cook county, Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Automobile Construction, of which the following is a specification.

If the motor or engine of an automobile is rigidly supported u on the body, and the said bod connecte with the axles by means of vehic e springs, it is evident that the sprocket chain, or other power-transmittin connection, employed for connecting sai motor or engine with the rear axle or wheels, will be subject to more or less strain and disarrangement, while the vehicle is traveling along,,owing to the fact that the body is free to rise and fall on the said sprin s and to the further fact that this rise and fail hr the body constantly subjects said chain or other connection to a shortening and lengthening effect, so to s eak, due to the constant change in relation etween the motor or engine and the rear axle, occasioned by the rise and fall of lthe motor or engine relatively to the said ax e.

Generally speaking, the object of my invention is the provision of an improvedconstruction and arrangement whereby the motor or engine may rise and fall freely, when the s rings upon which the body of the automobi e is mounted yield or bend, without causing any straining or disarrangement of proved rear the connections between the motor or engine and the rear axle.

Aspecial object is to provide an improved construction and arrangement whereby the motor or en he may be, swingingly supported from theiody of the automobile, so as to the rise and fall of the motor or engine from varying the distance between the two sprocket wheels of the driving chain, and at the same time ractically improve the efficiency and certainty of the power-transmitting connections between the motive power and the rear vehicle wheels.

A further and important object of the invention is to provide an adjustable member adapted to serve as the means for both inclosing and tightening or adjusting the sprocket chain. I

An'additional feature consists of an imaxle construction involving a novel and highly eflicient arrangement of a prevent differential earing with relation to a divided axle inclose withm a non-rotary casing.

It is also an object, of course, to provide certain details and features of improvement tending to increase the general efiiciency and serviceability of the motive power and the power-transmitting arrangement between the same and the rear vehicle wheels.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, my invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings-Fi ure 1 is a side elevation of an automobile em odying the principles of my invention; Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan of the motor, rear axle and power-transmitting connections; the casing, axle, diiierential gearing and the casing which incloses the sprocket chain being shown in'horizontal section; Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section of the differential gearing and the casing inclosing the same, showing a portion of the sprocket chain casing or cover in plan; Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 in Fig. 4 Fig. 6 is a section on line of Fig. 4, the earing being shown in side elevation; and Fig. 8 1s a cross-section on line 88 of Fig. 7. I As thus illustrated, my improved automobile comprises a box or body A, of any suitable design or construction, and front and rear vehicle wheels B and C. It will be observed that the said wheels are connected with the said box or body through the medium of vehicle springs D; These springs, it will be understood, take up the vibration incident to the passage of the vehicle over a rough road, and permit the box or body to rise and fall relatively to the axles.

The motor E can be of any suitable form or construction, but is preferably suspended from the box or body by a pivotal connection c. This, it will be seen, permits the motor, which in this .case is an electric motor, to swing relatively to the said box or body. As shown, the rear vehicle wheels C are socured to the two sections of a s lit or divided axle F,-the same being inclosed by a tubular casing The rear ends of the springs D can be secured to the said tubular casing in any desired or suitable manner. The gear wheel 1 is secured to one section of the said axle,

Whilea similar gear wheel f is secured to the other section. A similar larger wheel f is loosely mounted upon the abutting end portions of the two sections of the axle, and is adapted to en age the pinion f ion f is, it wilI be seen, mounted in suitable bearings formed in the enlargement of the casing f, which incloses the axle and the differential gearing. A pair of pinions, suitably mounted in bearings, carried" by the gear f, are arranged at each side of the wheels 3" and f For example, the-pinion f engages the gear wheel f while its mate f engages the gear wheel f", and the. two pinions meshing or engaging with each other. In a similar manner the pinion f 7 engages the gear wheel f while its mate f engages the gear wheel f and the two pinions engaging each other. As these pinions f, f", 7 and f are all carried or mounted in bearings on the gear wheelf it is evident that the rotation of the gear wheel f 3 will cause the two sections of the axle to rotate in unison. At the same time, and owing to the differential or compensating character of the gearing thus provided, one section of the axle may easily run ahead of or lag behind the other section. This, as will be readily understood, is with respect to the desirability of providing an arrangement whereby an automobile may readily turn around or may turn corners in such manner that the rear driving wheel on the outside of the turn may run faster than the other.

It willbe seen that the inions e of the gear wheel e are preferab y and desirably inclosed by the casing of the motor, said casing being preferably composed of two halves or sections joined to each other along a hori zontally and centrally located line. As illustrated, the said two halves or sections of the motor casing are secured together by means of bolts 6 and the shaft (2 of the gear wheel e passes through a gland or It will also be observed that the shaft of the pinion f 4 extends through and works in glands or ball bearing devices f 8 and f In addition, the two sections of the axle are preferably supported inball bearings f and f, the same being arranged at opposite sides of the gear wheels secured to the end portions of said axle sections. Preferably, the casing which incloses the differential gearing is made in two sections, the same being provided with flanges secured together by bolts or other fasteningmeans. Also, as illustrated, the said casing inclosing the differential gearing isprovided with a flanged boss f surrounding the shaft on which the pinion f is mounted. In a somewhat simiar manner, the motor casing, when its two halves of sections are secured together, is provided with a flanged boss 6 the shaft 6.

A sprocket wheel (Wis secured at the end of the shaft 6, while a similar sprocket f is se- This pin-' toge ther.

ball bearing 6 surrounding cured'to the end of the shaft u on which the pinion. f is'mounted. Asproc e.t chain G is employed as a medium of powertransmitting connection between said sprocket .wheels.

The casing H, which incloses the said sprocket chain and sprocket wheels, is preferably divided, both longitudinally and transversely, into sections adapted to be fitted For example, the said sprocket chain casing or inclosure can be divided at a point between its ends, and the abutting end portions of the sections coupled together by a ring h having right and left threads adapted to engage the threads on the outer cylindric surfaces of the enlarged end portions of the two casing sections. These two sections of the casing, arranged end to end in this-manner, are divided longitudinally and secured together, at each side, along longitudinal lines, by bolts or other fastening devices h It will be observed that the said bolts 7L are.

inserted through. flanges extending along the sides of the casing, thus affording what may be called a flanged union. This split or divided character of the sprocket chain casing is, it will be'seen, desirable, inasmuch as it is more easily and conveniently fitted upon the flanged bosses c and f". The ring it may also be composed of two arc-shaped sections secured together by screws or bolts. \Vhen the parts are thus assembled, the bosses e and are adapted to turn or oscillate relatively to the hearings in which they are inclosed, it being understood that the connections between the vehicle springs and the tubular casing fare of such character as to hold the latter rigidlyand against turning.

I/Vith this arrangement, 1t is obvious that themotor may rise and fall with the box or body, and that at such time it will swing about its pivotal connection 6 with the bottom of said box or body. This, of course, is due to the fact that the distance between the axle and the pivotal point e increases as the box or body moves downward, and, vice versa, decreases when the box or body moves upward. Ordinarily, and without the flexible connections which are employed between the power and the axle, such a variation in distance between the motor and the rear axle would cause the chain to be first tight and then loose, and would produce other undesirable or injurious effects upon the connections between the motor and the rear or driving wheels. With my improved arrangement, however, it is obvious that the motor is so mechanically connected with the driving Wheels that the power isv eficiently transmitted, while at the same time the motor may swing relatively to the box or body for the purpose of maintaining the desired condition of the power transmitting connections. In other words, such that, notwithstand' eir shafts mountthe arrangement is 'ed in a member which is rigid from end to connections.

Obviously, the ring h can, with the arrangement shown, be employed for adjusting the two sprocket wheels relatively to each other, so as to tighten or loosen the sprocketchain. Furthermore, the sprocket chain casing is, although thus adjustable or endwise extensible, of a strong and rigid character, and is preferably capable of containing oil in, sufiicient quantity to insure eflicient lubrication of the chain and bearings.

It is evident that the hollow member H is a combined sprocket-chain cover and ad justerthat is to say, it serves as the means for both inclosing and tightening or otherwise adjusting the chain.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. An automobile comprising vehicle wheels, a suitable body, a motor swingingly mounted on said body, s rings interposed between said body and w eels, said motor having a casing composed of segment-shaped sections, said sections being adapted to rovide a hollow flanged boss, a sprocket-w eel havingits shaft extended through said boss and connected with the motor shaft, a rear axle construction-having a casing provided with a hollow flanged boss, another sprocketwheel provided with a shaft extending through said last mentioned hollow boss and suitably connected with the rear axle of the vehicle, a sprocket chain connecting. said s rocket-wheels, and a casing inclosing the c aim and sprocket-wheels, the said casing thus inclosing the sprocket-chain and the s rocket-wheels being divided both longituinally and transversely into sections which are rotatably mounted upon said hollowflanged bosses, and a threaded coupling adjustabl y connecting the ends of said sections,

whereby the properdistance is maintained between said sprocket-wheels.

2, An automobile comprising power transmitting connections including sprocket wheels connected by a sprocket chain, one of said sprocket wheels bein mounted for bodily swinging movement re atively to the portion of the automobile b which it is carried, and a connection for sprocket chain and maintaining the roper distance between said sprocket whee s, together with an endwise extensible member having its opposite ends ivotally supported at points coincident wit the axes of said sprocket wheels, substantially as described.

Signed by me at Chicago, Cook county, Illinois this 24thda of Se tember 1904.

WI LIA MORRISON.

Witnesses: o

CLARENCE M. TnoRNn, JENNIE NORBY.

0th inclosing said 

